Intimidating presence at the plate … drew an NCAA record 108 walks last season, breaking her own record set the last two seasons …patient hitter, who has excellent eyes at the plate … should switch between playing first base and serving as the designated player.

2002: Led the team in batting average (.329, 47-143), home runs (9) and slugging percentage (.559) … third on the team in RBI (39) … second team All-Pac-10 selection … named All-Tournament at the NCAA Regionals and College World Series … broke the NCAA career walk record Mar. 2 vs. Cal State Fullerton with her 212th base on ball, overtaking Oregon State’s Tarrah Beyster (1997-00) … fifth in Cal’s career all-time records in batting average (.333) and fielding putouts (1240) and leads in career slugging percentage (.646) … walked all four at-bats against Fresno State Feb. 8 and all three at-bats against Long Beach State Mar. 9 … went 4-for-4 with five RBI, including two doubles, each with the bases loaded Mar. 3 versus Portland State … blasted three home runs at the Sacramento Capital Classic Mar. 14-17 ... went 4-for-8 in three games against Stanford Mar. 29-30, including a 3-for-3 performance in a 7-6 win over the Cardinal in the third game … went 2-for-3 with two RBI and her ninth homer of the season against Washington, April 12 … was intentionally walked all three at-bats against ASU, April 19 … walked three times against then-No. 8 Washington April 27.

2001: Surpassed many of the achievements and records she set in her first year at Cal … led the Bears in almost every offensive category … named first team All-Pac-10 and first team All-America … re-recorded the school home run record after hitting 19 … reset the NCAA season record with 93 walks … led the team in hitting with a .353 average … first on the squad in RBI with 53, the next best player (Candace Harper) had 33 in 2001 … had a slugging percentage of .780 and an on-base percentage of .601 … struck out just 15 times … in only her second year, became Cal’s career home run leader (33) … fifth all-time in batting average (min. 250 at-bats) with a .334 … had a season-high four RBI vs. Eastern Illinois Mar. 16 … had a big day at the Georgia Tech Buzz Classic Mar. 25 going 5-for-9 in three games with two home runs … was walked nine consecutive times in a double-header at Sacramento State Apr. 11 … had a game-winning two-run home run at Arizona State Apr. 20 … had two doubles and an RBI, plus six walks, in the NCAA Regional.

2000: Had one of the best offensive seasons in school history … named honorable mention All-Pac-10 and second team all-region … set a school record with 14 home runs and an NCAA record with 87 walks … finished second on the team with a .325 average … her home run total placed her fifth on Cal's career chart … her 87 walks more than doubled the old school record (36 by Gillian Boxx in 1995) and betters the previous NCAA mark of 64 held by Arizona's Jenny Dalton and Oregon State's Tarrah Beyster … tied for fourth on the Cal season list with 42 RBI and fourth in slugging percentage (.613) … walked 11 times in her first six games and had at least three walks in a game nine times … walked in all four of her plate appearances against Cal State Fullerton in the NCAA regional … in just her third game, had five RBI vs. BYU … had six RBI and a pair of home runs in a 12-1 rout of Oregon and went 4-for-5 with 4 RBI against UNLV … ended the regular season by going 4-for-8 with two home runs and four RBI in three games against Arizona State and Arizona … in the field, her 478 putouts was third on the Cal season list.

High School: Batted .710 as a senior and had a career average of .674 at Bishop O’Dowd HS … a four-year captain of her softball team … earned all-league honors all four years and was all-state as a senior … in ASA competition, named a second team All-American in women’s major in 1997 and was a third team pick in ’99 … also picked up second team All-American honors at 18 gold nationals in 1997 and ’99 … in addition to softball, was MVP of her basketball team as a senior.

Personal: Veronica Monique Nelson … parents are Sharon and Michael Nelson … at Bishop O’Dowd, was a member of the Student Council and the National Honor Society … also was a convalescent home volunteer for four years … legal studies and African American studies major … born April 16, 1981 in Oakland, CA.